Finance Committee on Oct. 16th, 2018

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

On that note, I'd also like to recognize who is with us and who presented us with the chocolates, but that was mainly to sweeten up the NDP, Peter, I think.

Kate Ryan-Lloyd, who is the deputy clerk and clerk of committees, and two of her colleagues are here. We met at a meeting where we were talking about how finance committees operate. Kate and her colleagues are here to see that we do things right, so everybody will be on their best behaviour.

With that, we'll start with the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Canada, and Mr. Ariganello.

[Anthony Ariganello, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Canada]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good morning, everyone.

Mr. Chair, on behalf of CPHR Canada, the national voice of the human resources profession, I am very pleased to participate in the committee's consultations in advance of the 2019 budget.

Since the committee has already received our brief, my remarks will be quite short.

CPHR Canada's members know that we are in a time of great innovation and of profound and turbulent changes. We must ensure that Canadians have the resources to face those changes and to be ready to adapt to the new reality.

Government policies and programs, therefore, must quickly evolve to keep pace with the evolution of work and employment.

CPHR Canada is far from alone in taking this position. We partnered with the U.S.-based Society for Human Resource Management to produce a joint paper, entitled “Demystifying Technology in the Workplace”.

In this paper, we note that technology can have positive impacts on firms and workers, but as you know, technology can also have negative impacts. For example, third party online workers are exposed to greater career uncertainty and have fewer protections than do workers in traditional employment. For firms, business continuity, data privacy concerns, and increased regulation are among the risks.

Those and other impacts on employment have important implications for governments. For example, online freelancing does not clearly fit into traditional employment. Therefore, online workers in most countries do not receive the benefits of unionization, collective bargaining, social benefits or legal protection such as minimum-wage laws.

Increasingly, full-time, full-year work is giving way to more precarious arrangements that lack the same pay, benefits and protections enjoyed by previous generations. This shift to non-standard work arrangements disproportionately affects younger, better-educated, and older Canadians.

In short, these best of times for innovation are not necessarily the best of times for all Canadians, but with innovation in government policy and support, and effective engagement by key economic players, the times can be made much better and more equitable.

Fortunately, a start has been made. For example, the Global Apprenticeship Network mobilizes the private sector, business federations and associations to share best practices, to advocate and to commit to actions for job creation and skills development. Joining that network would be a benefit to Canada.

Business, too, is acting. According to a 2018 Business Council survey, businesses are creating diverse partnerships with post-secondary institutions; employers are spending more on employee training, and a diverse and healthy workforce is a priority.

Provinces, too, have taken note. The Government of Quebec launched a five-year labour market strategy, investing $180 million, and $49 million of that specifically on training.

Federally, budget 2018, with its innovation and skills plan, set out broad-reaching objectives focused largely on skills development and education, as well as support for innovation. In other elements, it also set out clear support for families and to encourage gender equity. We welcome these initiatives.

CPHR Canada would strongly support efforts in budget 2019 to directly address issues surrounding those in precarious positions who may not be best able to take advantage of the budget 2018 provisions, and to continue to support a diverse, welcoming workforce.

The initiative could include consultation with Canadians, including business, labour and individuals, to identify gaps and weaknesses in current legislation governing non-traditional employment. CPHR Canada members would be pleased to support and participate in such consultations. It could include improved monitoring and reporting on employment trends, including the precarity of work, emerging skills shortages, and conversely, areas where existing skills may be challenged by technology. It could include improved labour market information to better align immigration with the needs of employers, and policies and programs to help workers transition to the human economy, where their know-how and skills no longer give them advantages over increasingly intelligent machines. It could provide indigenous Canadians with training opportunities and facilitate the transition of foreign students into the Canadian workplace. It could pursue initiatives from budget 2018 to ensure the full participation of women in the workforce, which would include ensuring that foreign students in Canada can gain Canadian work experience, especially where this is required to gain admission to Canada's professions. Last, it could continue to ensure that new Canadians are able to apply their skills and professional qualifications in support of their families and the Canadian economy.

Efficient and productive human resources propel the economy. They are human capital.

We are confident that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance will chart the course needed now to support Canadians and to enhance competitiveness.

It is a privilege for CPHR Canada to take part in your meeting. I will be pleased to answer your questions.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you very much, Anthony.

We turn now to D-Wave Systems Inc. We have Mr. Brownell, chief executive officer, and Mr. Wall.

Welcome.

[Vern Brownell, President and Chief Executive Officer, D-Wave Systems Inc.]

Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee. My name is Vern Brownell, and I'm the CEO and president of D-Wave Systems. I'm here with my colleague Warren Wall, who's our EVP of corporate affairs.

Both Warren and I are delighted to be here today to discuss with you an item of critical importance to federal investment, the application of quantum computing. This is an area in which Canada is already a world leader, but frankly this position is at risk unless an ecosystem of key players, including government, private sector and academia, is able to come together and help us move forward to the next generation.

Since 1999, D-Wave, proudly based in Burnaby B.C.—your home riding, Mr. Julian—has been a pioneer in the research and development of quantum computing, and today we're the world’s leading developer of commercial quantum computing systems.

For those of you who may not be familiar with it, quantum computing represents one of the most exciting frontiers in technology. It harnesses the remarkable properties of quantum mechanics in a novel computing device, enabling new algorithms and applications that promise to deliver unprecedented computational power to solve some of the world's most difficult and complex problems.

Indeed, some of the organizations at the forefront of global innovation, like Google, NASA, Lockheed Martin, and Volkswagen, are today using D-Wave systems. Simply put, D-Wave's quantum computational technology has put Canada and B.C. on the map as a global pioneer in this kind of cutting-edge technology development.

Canada must seize the opportunity it has in front of it to position the country as the world leader in quantum computing. With the appropriate level of financial support from government, and in the face of international competition in investment, Canada can capitalize on its significant first-mover advantage and secure its position as the global leader in quantum computing.

I understand that the theme of your pre-budget consultations is ensuring Canada's competitiveness. I can assure you that without more systematic strategic investment in quantum computing by the Government of Canada, we will be eclipsed by others, including China and the United States. Just last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Quantum Initiative Act to provide resources, regulatory assistance, and $1.275 billion to bolster the United States in its quantum computing fields.

The conversation around the world has for the most part been focused on advancing theoretical models and building low-level hardware devices as proof of concept. There is certainly much more to be learned, and Canada should continue to strongly support its domestic quantum players who currently lead the theoretical and science research.

D-Wave's experience with our customers has shown us that the industry is ready to take quantum technology out of the laboratory and introduce it for broader commercial use and benefit. To that end, D-Wave is contributing as a founding member of Canada's digital technology supercluster to apply our innovative systems to the problems of real value to Canadians.

There are more than 90 published examples of early applications using D-Wave's current quantum computing systems, in areas as diverse as health care, energy, finance, manufacturing, transportation, defence and security. Problems in these fields are so complex that even the fastest supercomputers cannot deliver acceptable results in reasonable time frames.

The next generation of D-Wave's quantum computers will deliver the power required to drive innovation well beyond the realm of any classical computing system. The advent of this machine will represent a major milestone globally, and one led from within Canada. However, this cannot be achieved by industry on its own. It requires creative partnerships and collaborations, including with the Government of Canada.

In this regard, we have three recommendations for the committee in the context of the 2019 federal budget.

One is to provide funding of a minimum $50 million over five years for a program specifically designed to establish Canada as the world leader in the application of quantum computing to address high-value business, public policy and fundamental research problems.

Two is to encourage Canadian companies to explore and invest in quantum application development on challenging problems that will ensure Canada’s competitiveness as an innovation leader using this new technology.

Three, where appropriate, is to provide seed funding to universities and research-intensive organizations in Canada in order that they may focus on developing programming and related infrastructure to facilitate the application of quantum computing in real-world problems.

I'll just mention briefly that we have no systems in Canada. All of our current customers are in the U.S., Japan and Europe. I think this is unfortunate. It really seems to me that we should have research systems based in Canada.

The future of quantum computing will be dominated by those who seize these opportunities. Canada is well positioned to be the world leader, if our recommendations are adopted.

I thank you for your time and attention and look forward to any questions. I would appreciate that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you very much, Mr. Brownell.

Turning to Mitacs, we have Mr. Adem, CEO. Welcome.

[Dr. Alejandro Adem, Chief Executive Officer and Scientific Director, Mitacs]

Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for giving me the opportunity to appear before the Standing Committee on Finance today to discuss what steps the federal government can take to support Canadians and their businesses to grow the economy in the face of a changing economic landscape.

Canadian companies across sectors recognize that the nature of jobs is changing. New hires need adaptable and flexible skills to perform jobs that may not yet exist. A recent report by RBC, entitled “Humans Wanted: How Canadian youth can thrive in the age of disruption”, found after extensive consultations with companies across the country that 25% of jobs will be disrupted due to technology in the next decade, and half of Canadian jobs will require a significant adjustment in required skills.

Despite this disruption, over 2.4 million jobs will likely be added to the Canadian economy over the next four years. These jobs will require new skills and combinations of skills to allow companies to seize opportunities, develop new technologies and access markets around the world.

Fortunately, Canada has a highly educated population, an outstanding post-secondary system with world-class universities, and a robust system of colleges and polytechnics. These institutions prepare Canadians for a changing workforce while ensuring that businesses can access the talent and ideas they need to grow.

Experiential learning opportunities, including work-integrated learning and international experiences, equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the 21st century workplace. In building these sought-after skills, work-integrated learning opportunities strengthen Canada's capacity to adapt to changing labour force demands while providing businesses with the tools and talent they need to innovate, commercialize ideas, and succeed on a global stage.

Mitacs, as a key partner in the Government of Canada's innovation and skills plan, is moving towards its goal of delivering 10,000 innovation internships annually by 2020 through programs designed to strengthen links between Canadian businesses and post-secondary institutions, enrich graduate student development, and meet the evolving needs of companies large and small.

The current Mitacs platform is unique in its approach to work-integrated learning, with our business development experts proactively working with partners to ensure that each internship focuses on research that is of shared value to the company or host organization, the academic institution and the student. Mitacs internships are designed to incentivize private sector research and development, support business growth and promote innovation while simultaneously developing Canadian talent and attracting top minds from around the world.

To meet the needs of Canadian industry and ensure that students across the post-secondary education sector can gain practical work experience during their studies, Mitacs is proposing to extend our programming by, one, expanding current program eligibility for university graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to university undergraduate students and scaling up the number of projects with the college and polytechnics sector, as well as providing pathways to employment for recent graduates and, two, providing a unique national platform for students across the post-education sector to access meaningful, paid work-integrated learning internship opportunities beyond research. This platform will allow Mitacs to scale up pilot programs for start-ups in incubators and accelerators, as well as for businesses looking to commercialize their ideas and/or access global markets.

With an expanded mandate covering a range of mechanisms, Mitacs can tailor business solutions to meet the evolving needs of industry and address Canada's skills needs. Properly supported and deployed, Canadian post-secondary education students will become tomorrow's innovation leaders, helping Canadian businesses overcome challenges, commercialize ideas and compete globally.

Mitacs looks forward to working collaboratively with the Government of Canada and other stakeholders to advance Canadian competitiveness while equipping the next generation with the skills, talent and experience they need to succeed. Building on a successful track record and expansive national networks, Mitacs can serve as a more strategic partner in the delivery of work-integrated learning experiences that include and go beyond research, reach a full spectrum of post-secondary students and grow Canadian businesses.

Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you again for the opportunity to appear before the Standing Committee on Finance.

I would be happy to answer any questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you very much.

From Stand.earth, we have Mr. Biggs, energy and climate campaigner.

Welcome.

[Sven Biggs, Energy and Climate Campaigner, Stand.earth]

Thank you.

I would like to begin by acknowledging the territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt first nations, and by thanking the committee for the invitation to appear today.

I'm going to start by drawing your attention to the recent report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This report shows that we cannot avoid the worst impacts of climate change unless we reduce our emissions by one-fifth in the next 12 years.

I raise this here because I believe that climate change is not only the largest environmental and moral crisis we face but also the biggest economic challenge of our time. The IPCC report points out that while the cost of addressing the crisis will be high, the costs of not acting are even higher. We are already paying the costs of climate change. We have seen steady increases in disaster financial assistance arrangement liabilities. Two decades ago they averaged around a $100 million a year. Today the Parliamentary Budget Office estimates that they have grown more than sixfold to $673 million a year. Meanwhile, Canadian insurance companies have seen claims following natural catastrophes rise over the same period from $400 million to over a billion dollars a year.

As the impact of climate change becomes more and more real, these costs are only going to continue to rise. Case in point, here in B.C. we had a record-breaking forest fire season in 2007, losing over 1.2 million hectares of forest to wildfires and costing the provincial government more than half a billion dollars.

However, that record did not stand long. Although the season is not over and there are still fires burning around the forests today, we have already this year lost 1.3 million hectares of forest in British Columbia fires. Experts warn that these kinds of wildfires are going to be the new normal.

Obviously the costs of climate change are not limited to natural disasters. The economists at the University of North Carolina have modelled the growth rate of the U.S. economy under several climate scenarios. They've found that in the most optimistic climate scenario model where we meet our targets and limit rising temperatures to 1.5 degrees, climate impacts on the economy could represent as little of a reduction as 0.4% of GDP over the next 100 years. If we allow temperatures to rise by just 2.8 degrees, they predict a 10% loss in the growth of GDP. With an increase of 3.4 degrees, they calculate that the cost of climate change could be as large as one-third of the growth of GDP. We can see quite clearly that climate change has a real cost to the economy and that it grows exponentially with inaction.

I'm here today to offer a couple of concrete examples of actions that this government can take in its next budget to address climate while reducing spending.

First, we must end fossil fuel subsidies. Currently, Canadian taxpayers give fossil fuel producers $3.3 billion a year in tax breaks and direct subsidy. In addition, since this government came to power it has given a further $12 billion in loans to fossil fuel companies through Export Development Canada. I will remind you that in the last election the Liberal Party promised to end these subsidies. In addition, the Canadian government has made commitments to the G20 to end fossil fuel subsidies by 2020. Despite these stated commitments the Auditor General has found that this government has no plan to meet them. If this government hopes to keep Canada's climate goals, it must stop incentivizing the very industry that is driving climate change.

Finally, I would suggest that this government not invest any more public funds in the Trans Mountain pipeline. Construction costs are currently pegged at $9.3 billion. That number has more than doubled since the project was first announced, and is likely to continue to rise as delays continue.

Typically construction for this kind of infrastructure is paid off over a 30-year term, meaning we'll still be paying for this pipeline in 2050 when we need to reach the goal of reducing emissions by 80%. Simply put, we cannot do both simultaneously. We must choose. We can either build this pipeline or we can save the climate.

Thank you for this opportunity. I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you very much, Sven.

We will turn now to Mr. Wilson, vice-president with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

Welcome.

[Duncan Wilson, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and honourable members.

My name is Duncan Wilson. I'm vice president, corporate social responsibility with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. Please note that we previously provided a comprehensive submission to the pre-budget consultation. Today I will discuss a few of the highlights included in that submission.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is responsible for the stewardship of the Port of Vancouver, Canada's largest port. Our mandate, as set out by the Canada Marine Act, is to ensure that port infrastructure is in place to meet Canada's trade objectives, protect the environment and consider the impact of port activity on local communities.

The Port of Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert are Canada's gateway to Asia. Trade with Asia is expected to grow dramatically as the economies of China and India in particular continue to expand. At present, about $1 of every $3—so 30% of all of Canada's trade and goods outside of North America—goes to the Port of Vancouver.

Our challenge as a port authority is how to grow Canada's trade in a way that is environmentally sustainable and that also takes into consideration the impacts of growing trade on local communities. A lot has already been done to improve the port's surrounding infrastructure and to increase capacity; however, there's a lot more work to do, especially given new trade agreements with Asia, if Canada is to realize the economic benefits to increasing global trade.

In response to the question of what steps the federal government can take to support and encourage Canadians and their businesses to grow the economy in the face of a challenging economic landscape, I'd like to share the following recommendations.

On access to capital, if port authorities compete in the market for land and project funding, it is critical that we have access to capital in a timely manner when needed or risk effects to Canada's competitiveness. A great example of that is trying to purchase land in the Lower Mainland with rising industrial land prices—rising land prices overall.

Therefore, we recommend that government allow access to capital through timely borrowing limit adjustments, or an alternative approach to borrowing limits such as creating a borrowing limit that's based on a multiple of EBITDA to facilitate borrowing for core port infrastructure and growth.

For long-term government leadership on strategic infrastructure spending, we commend the government for its commitment to national infrastructure spending through the national trade corridors fund.

For the second phase of funding, we want to ensure that trade enabling continues to be at the forefront of investment. Therefore, we recommend increasing funding for the national trade corridors fund, and focusing this funding on trade-enabling infrastructure projects with national economic importance and significant long-term impacts.

Tremendous potential exists to improve Canada's competitiveness through the strategic sharing of data amongst supply chain participants to optimize the supply chain. To capitalize on this, we recommend regulation to support data sharing, through optimized supply chain performance and dedicated funding to support resources for data collection such as the Canadian Transportation Agency.

With regard to the protection of marine mammals, much of the commercial vessel activity within the southern coast of B.C. transits through critical habitat for southern resident killer whales. We are committed to conducting operations in a responsible and sustainable manner within the port's jurisdiction.

We also want to take a leadership role in addressing the impact of marine shipping even outside of our jurisdiction. That's why we launched the port authority-led enhancing cetacean habitat and observation program, ECHO, in 2014, with support from Transport Canada among others, for which the port authority is very grateful.

We envision that we will continue to lead this program over the next five years, and would like to recommend that the government continue its support in the order of a minimum contribution of $1 million per year over the next five years.

We recommend the creation of a clean transportation innovation fund. We support the government's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and we understand that the transportation and shipping sectors are major contributors to greenhouse gases. Therefore, we recommend a clean transportation innovation fund to support the transition to low- and even no-emission transportation alternatives wherever possible.

In conclusion, the Port of Vancouver continues to be recognized as a world-class gateway because of the leadership of the federal government in implementing strategic nation-building infrastructure improvements that have allowed the gateway to facilitate tremendous trade and growth.

Ensuring the sustainability of Canada's major trade and transportation corridors and overall goods movement through strategic infrastructure and innovation is vital to maintaining and enhancing the competitiveness of the gateway and the Canadian economy.

Implementing these recommendations will stimulate employment through infrastructure construction and strengthen the transportation backbone of Canada's trade, benefiting all Canadian businesses reliant on transportation infrastructure for exports, imports and the efficient movement of goods. In doing so, the federal government will be able to support and encourage Canadians and their businesses to grow the economy in the face of a changing economic landscape.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you very much, Duncan.

Thank you all for your presentations.

I might note for those who did send in earlier submissions, prior to August 15, that they are on people's iPads or whatever electronic technology they have. They are a major part of our consideration for the consultations as well.

We will start with seven-minute rounds. Go ahead, Ms. Rudd.

[Kim Rudd]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

For those of us who still like paper and support the forest industry, some of us have paper.

Thank you very much, and thank you to the presenters who had this short period of time to provide their comments. This is my first time travelling with the committee, and it has been very informative. I did not know there was something called a “gold-digger clause”, so thank you for that. It is amazing the information we find out, valuable information, all kidding aside.

There are really interesting perspectives in this panel on a number of fronts. I'm going to start with Alejandro from Mitacs.

I'm very aware of the work you do, and thank you for your collaboration. I know you have been a very strong partner with the government as we work through what is an ever-changing landscape in terms of employment and in terms of business and industry.

You made a comment about how many new jobs would be created over the next four years. Can you give me that number, please? I'm sorry; I was writing and didn't get quite to it.

[Alejandro Adem]

Yes. I think I said 2.4 million jobs will likely be created and added to the Canadian economy over the next four years.

[Kim Rudd]

I thought maybe I written down the wrong number, but there we go. Thank you very much. That's a lot of jobs.

One of the things you talked about was the opportunity for internships and apprenticeships. Someone else mentioned about immigration and making sure that we have those pathways for immigrants who are coming to our country with maybe a set of skills, a degree, a profession—an engineer, medical doctor, various professions—how they can find that path through.

Can you talk a bit about the work you have been doing with provinces and territories as well? As you know, a lot of this is determined by the provinces and territories, whether it's apprenticeship, whether it's professional designation, or those kinds of things.

[Alejandro Adem]

Our business is to really connect universities with industry, with companies, and embed students in companies so they obtain experiential learning opportunities. Our funding comes primarily from industry, the federal government and provincial governments. We work with all 10 provincial governments at this time.

In terms of your question, when a student comes from a foreign country to UBC, SFU or Ryerson and wants to gain traction in Canadian society, what our internships provide is the opportunity to embed in a company or not-for-profit organization and get real-world experience while working on a research deliverable that could conceivably lead to commercialization or some idea for social innovation.

For us, this is a very clear path for making that person feel that they're part of the fabric of Canadian society. When they graduate, they will know that there's the option of working in that company or similar companies within Canada instead of moving south of the border or to Europe or Asia. Everything we talk about is in the context of very fierce competition for talent across the globe.

That's how we see it: as a mechanism for getting these new Canadians into our system, people who want to be part of the Canadian system but don't have the appropriate certification, the roots or the connections.

[Kim Rudd]

Certainly what we're experiencing across the country, and I know in my community, is a labour shortage in varying degrees.

That brings me to you, Mr. Brownell, and what you talk about. I'm familiar with your organization as well, and I know that the work you've been doing has been well recognized, as you mentioned, around the world.

One of the questions I have for you is, who is doing the work for Canadians? If you're a Canadian company working around the world but you're not working in Canada, who's doing the work in Canada?

[Vern Brownell]

There are many universities across Canada that do fundamental research in quantum computing, and they're an extremely valuable resource for us. We're the only commercial company in the world, so we're the only company that has the capability to provide a quantum computer that can be used for those kinds of applications that I talked about.

It's a unique position. The unfortunate part of it is that access to a system is not available to Canadian researchers today, whereas the systems that we have placed in the states—there's one at NASA and one at USC—are all available to U.S. researchers. Most of the hundreds of applications that I mentioned are being developed outside of Canada, ironically, even though we're a Canadian company.

[Kim Rudd]

I became familiar with you through your application. I was out here in Vancouver speaking to the folks who put in the application for the supercluster. Can you tell me a bit about why you joined that supercluster consortium and where you are in that process currently?

[Vern Brownell]

Warren is most familiar with the supercluster, so I'm going to turn it over to him.

[Warren Wall, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, D-Wave Systems Inc.]

D-Wave is a founding member of the supercluster, and I'm on the board of directors for the supercluster as well. We invested, or will be investing, $10 million of our own effort, time, money and people in order to advance the objectives of the supercluster.

The supercluster is focused on developing technology innovation in certain areas, in particular in health care, natural resources and data science. We felt that our particular technology would be a great platform for some of those applications. We wanted to work with these local companies to be able to drive some of these specific applications forward.

There's a much broader sense of where quantum computing can be used, though. We think this technology does need to be used outside of even the supercluster. It needs to be developed within the universities across Canada to allow access to those kinds of systems.

[Kim Rudd]

Can you talk a little bit about the application? Applications of the type that you are doing can be very helpful within the health care sector in terms of being able to take huge amounts of data and produce the outcomes. I understand that before folks like you came along, there was no end in sight in terms of the amount of time it would take to get to an answer. Now it's relatively short. When we talk about this process, can you talk about how that could impact health care?

[Vern Brownell]

Yes, you hit upon one of the most important application areas for our technology, and one I'm personally most excited about. It's the use of this for health care and bioinformatics.

We've already done work with the Vancouver Prostate Centre on trying to come up with some interesting models to use our technology to identify prostate cancer. We've worked with a start-up company in San Diego on identifying better kinase inhibitors—which are oncology drugs—using our technology. We see that as one of the most important areas. We also see that as a strength of Canada, and B.C. in particular, that we would like to leverage.

You're bringing up a good example. We're not looking for, say, another quantum computing centre; we're looking for a vehicle whereby we can put this technology into the hands of researchers, particularly in bioinformatics and problems like that, and allow them to use it, develop use cases for it, and leverage that technology to change the world and improve our conditions and so on. I think we have great early examples of that. We would like to have thousands of researchers with access to this technology so they can make further progress in those areas.

That is, I think, the most important application area for quantum computing into the future. We have a unique opportunity to do that in Canada.

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you all.

We'll turn to Mr. Jeneroux for seven-minute rounds.

[Matt Jeneroux]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank to all of you for being here today, and to those of you who have travelled to be here.

I do want to come back to you guys at D-Wave, but I will start with you, Mr. Adem, from Mitacs. How many projects does Mitacs have on the go right now?

[Alejandro Adem]

Right now we have around 7,000 internships.